RiskIQ Researchers Track E-commerce Threat Magecart Part II, Discover Network of Threat Actors Physically Reshipping Items Purchased with Stolen Cards via U.S. Mules
July 12, 2017
New report uncovers a direct link to the outcome of stolen credit cards, offering rare insight into the physical world operations of actors tied to digital threats
SAN FRANCISCO – July 12, 2017 –In October of last year, the RiskIQ Threat Research team released “Compromised E-commerce Sites Lead to Magecart,” a report profiling the e-commerce threat they discovered and dubbed 'Magecart,' which injects JavaScript code into e-commerce sites running outdated and unpatched versions of shopping cart software from Magento, Powerfront, and OpenCart. By logging consumer keystrokes, these attackers capture large quantities of payment card information.
Now, by following a new strain of Magecart, the team has discovered a direct link to the outcome of the stolen credit cards for threat actors, offering rare insight into the physical world operations of actors tied to digital threats.
The report, “Magecart Part II: From JavaScript Injects to Reshipping for Financial Gain,” highlights how threat actors targeting e-commerce sites cash out by reshipping items purchased with stolen cards via a physical reshipping company, operating with mules in the U.S.
In light of the recent Krebs on Security blog post, which ties Magecart infrastructure listed in our original report to a credit card dumps website known as “Trump’s Dumps,” it’s clear that these actors have a diversified portfolio of rackets for monetizing their plunder.
“Magecart activity is still going strong, affecting new sites and continuing to register new domains to host the injected web skimmer scripts,” said Yonathan Klijnsma, threat researcher at RiskIQ. “New insight into the sophisticated way these actors are monetizing their activities in the physical world shows the broadness of their scope of operations.”
By pivoting on a domain related to known Magecart activity in RiskIQ PassiveTotal, the team found that the server behind its IP address, currently used for the injects of the Magecart script, also links to a reshipping company website falsely advertised as a freight/logistics provider.
Via false employment ads on Russian job websites for U.S.-based job seekers, mules are recruited under the pretense of “transport agents,” tasked with receiving shipments of electronics and other goods bought with stolen credit cards to ship to an address in Eastern Europe. This technique is similar to more traditional schemes involving money mules, but rather than a direct transfer of funds, the actors behind Magecart transfer funds into higher-priced goods, which can be shipped across borders without suspicion then sold for a hefty profit.
“Magecart Part II: From JavaScript Injects to Reshipping for Financial Gain” takes a deep dive into:
- The evolution of payment card theft
- Magecart infrastructure: what it looks like, how to detect it, and how it’s evolving
- Why e-commerce sites and consumers are at risk
- The Magecart operators' offline rackets and why they work
- Guidance for e-commerce site owners and why having a dynamic view of their digital footprint is key to defending themselves
To conduct this and other web research, RiskIQ applies its proprietary virtual user web crawling technology. This advanced internet reconnaissance acts like a user would, thoroughly interrogating websites and web apps, as well as respective browser session communications. It processes more than 2 billion HTTP requests per day to surface, identify, and connect internet elements to malicious campaigns.
RiskIQ sees what appears on social media pages, websites, and mobile sites—just as it appears in users’ browsers. RiskIQ virtual users capture the DOM and find the dynamic links and changes made by JavaScript that could signify a potential attack.
'This new report shows how Magecart is an effective and lucrative operation for these actors,” Klijnsma said. “It may well indicate a burgeoning trend of keylogging threats affecting e-commerce sites.”
To learn more, attend RiskIQ’s Magecart Part II Threatcast, Tuesday, Aug. 8, 9 a.m. PT. Register here: https://www.riskiq.com/webinar/magecart-part-ii-javascript-injects-reshipping/.
About RiskIQ
RiskIQ is the leader in digital threat management, providing the most comprehensive discovery, intelligence, and mitigation of threats associated with an organization’s digital presence. With more than 80 percent of attacks originating outside the firewall, RiskIQ allows enterprises to gain unified insight and control over web, social, and mobile exposures. Trusted by thousands of security analysts, RiskIQ’s platform combines advanced internet data reconnaissance and analytics to expedite investigations, understand digital attack surfaces, assess risk, and take action to protect business, brand, and customers. Based in San Francisco, the company is backed by Summit Partners, Battery Ventures, Georgian Partners, and MassMutual Ventures. Visit RiskIQ.com or follow us on Twitter.
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